Weaving the Thread of Restoration
Vibrant colors from the marketplace spill out onto the cobbled street. Handicrafts, traditional weavings, tourist knick-knacks, medicinal herbs, and religious artifacts all squeeze into tiny stalls that take over the central plaza.
With the Pacaya volcano as the backdrop, it’s a photographer’s dream, but that’s not why Juan Jose Pulido de Leon (Juancho) is here on a Sunday afternoon in Guatemala City.
Juancho is the pastor of a local church, often found with his team sharing the gospel with his city’s youth in public parks and plazas. Together, they present plays, paint faces, and play games, inviting passersby to learn more about Jesus. While they focus these mini outreach missions on the predominantly Mayan and Mestizo populations, they are also part of Juancho’s bigger discipleship plan to restore the call among youth to follow Jesus.
If there’s one thing Juancho knows, it’s that restoration is a process — a journey of transformation and healing that starts within. He confesses, “For a long time, I lived without Jesus Christ in the center of my heart. Yes, I knew about him, but he was just one more element to put around everything in my life. When I accepted him, he turned around all the concepts and values of my life. Before, I thought that my wife had to respect me and my daughters were to obey. Now, my wife respects me not because it is her obligation but because of the work of Jesus Christ in our relationship. Both she and I have submitted our lives to him. The change in our marriage has led our daughters to see the Lord and want to follow him, too.”
The personal restoration of Juancho and his family is like a thread of color being woven into the fabric of his work and community life. Where before he may have tried to convince people to follow Jesus, Juancho now allows what the Lord has transformed in him to testify of God’s goodness and glory. Juancho’s Haggai Leader Experience helped him develop healthy goals and inspiring relationships, like with Dr. Jose Chuaunsu, Haggai’s Executive Director of Equipping. Dr. Jose, who led Juancho’s HLE, encourages him to continue weaving the thread of the gospel in his community.
The result of Juancho’s approach is stories like that of Byron, a person experiencing homelessness to whom Juancho has helped restore dignity by giving odd jobs at the church. He explains, “At the beginning of 2024, we invited Byron to an evangelistic seminar where he gave his life to Jesus. Not only have we seen changes in him, but also in the attitudes of the people in our church. They have offered him to use the facilities to bathe and wash his clothes to improve his lifestyle and have gathered a group to give him daily work to earn a more stable income. I know it is still in process, but the gospel is not only about accepting Jesus into your heart but also about helping you grow in all areas of life.”
In a country marked by religious syncretism, where nominal Christianity is practiced side-by-side with traditional Mayan beliefs, Juancho also prays for the greater restoration of Guatemala to the one true God. It’s why he shows up in the marketplace each week, sharing the gospel alongside the teens, raising up a vibrant generation who believes in the Master Weaver who restores all things.
Written by Carolyn Grant
Weaving the Thread of Restoration
Vibrant colors from the marketplace spill out onto the cobbled street. Handicrafts, traditional weavings, tourist knick-knacks, medicinal herbs, and religious artifacts all squeeze into tiny stalls that take over the central plaza.
With the Pacaya volcano as the backdrop, it’s a photographer’s dream, but that’s not why Juan Jose Pulido de Leon (Juancho) is here on a Sunday afternoon in Guatemala City.
Juancho is the pastor of a local church, often found with his team sharing the gospel with his city’s youth in public parks and plazas. Together, they present plays, paint faces, and play games, inviting passersby to learn more about Jesus. While they focus these mini outreach missions on the predominantly Mayan and Mestizo populations, they are also part of Juancho’s bigger discipleship plan to restore the call among youth to follow Jesus.
If there’s one thing Juancho knows, it’s that restoration is a process — a journey of transformation and healing that starts within. He confesses, “For a long time, I lived without Jesus Christ in the center of my heart. Yes, I knew about him, but he was just one more element to put around everything in my life. When I accepted him, he turned around all the concepts and values of my life. Before, I thought that my wife had to respect me and my daughters were to obey. Now, my wife respects me not because it is her obligation but because of the work of Jesus Christ in our relationship. Both she and I have submitted our lives to him. The change in our marriage has led our daughters to see the Lord and want to follow him, too.”
The personal restoration of Juancho and his family is like a thread of color being woven into the fabric of his work and community life. Where before he may have tried to convince people to follow Jesus, Juancho now allows what the Lord has transformed in him to testify of God’s goodness and glory. Juancho’s Haggai Leader Experience helped him develop healthy goals and inspiring relationships, like with Dr. Jose Chuaunsu, Haggai’s Executive Director of Equipping. Dr. Jose, who led Juancho’s HLE, encourages him to continue weaving the thread of the gospel in his community.
The result of Juancho’s approach is stories like that of Byron, a person experiencing homelessness to whom Juancho has helped restore dignity by giving odd jobs at the church. He explains, “At the beginning of 2024, we invited Byron to an evangelistic seminar where he gave his life to Jesus. Not only have we seen changes in him, but also in the attitudes of the people in our church. They have offered him to use the facilities to bathe and wash his clothes to improve his lifestyle and have gathered a group to give him daily work to earn a more stable income. I know it is still in process, but the gospel is not only about accepting Jesus into your heart but also about helping you grow in all areas of life.”
In a country marked by religious syncretism, where nominal Christianity is practiced side-by-side with traditional Mayan beliefs, Juancho also prays for the greater restoration of Guatemala to the one true God. It’s why he shows up in the marketplace each week, sharing the gospel alongside the teens, raising up a vibrant generation who believes in the Master Weaver who restores all things.
Written by Carolyn Grant
Weaving the Thread of Restoration
Vibrant colors from the marketplace spill out onto the cobbled street. Handicrafts, traditional weavings, tourist knick-knacks, medicinal herbs, and religious artifacts all squeeze into tiny stalls that take over the central plaza.
With the Pacaya volcano as the backdrop, it’s a photographer’s dream, but that’s not why Juan Jose Pulido de Leon (Juancho) is here on a Sunday afternoon in Guatemala City.
Juancho is the pastor of a local church, often found with his team sharing the gospel with his city’s youth in public parks and plazas. Together, they present plays, paint faces, and play games, inviting passersby to learn more about Jesus. While they focus these mini outreach missions on the predominantly Mayan and Mestizo populations, they are also part of Juancho’s bigger discipleship plan to restore the call among youth to follow Jesus.
If there’s one thing Juancho knows, it’s that restoration is a process — a journey of transformation and healing that starts within. He confesses, “For a long time, I lived without Jesus Christ in the center of my heart. Yes, I knew about him, but he was just one more element to put around everything in my life. When I accepted him, he turned around all the concepts and values of my life. Before, I thought that my wife had to respect me and my daughters were to obey. Now, my wife respects me not because it is her obligation but because of the work of Jesus Christ in our relationship. Both she and I have submitted our lives to him. The change in our marriage has led our daughters to see the Lord and want to follow him, too.”
The personal restoration of Juancho and his family is like a thread of color being woven into the fabric of his work and community life. Where before he may have tried to convince people to follow Jesus, Juancho now allows what the Lord has transformed in him to testify of God’s goodness and glory. Juancho’s Haggai Leader Experience helped him develop healthy goals and inspiring relationships, like with Dr. Jose Chuaunsu, Haggai’s Executive Director of Equipping. Dr. Jose, who led Juancho’s HLE, encourages him to continue weaving the thread of the gospel in his community.
The result of Juancho’s approach is stories like that of Byron, a person experiencing homelessness to whom Juancho has helped restore dignity by giving odd jobs at the church. He explains, “At the beginning of 2024, we invited Byron to an evangelistic seminar where he gave his life to Jesus. Not only have we seen changes in him, but also in the attitudes of the people in our church. They have offered him to use the facilities to bathe and wash his clothes to improve his lifestyle and have gathered a group to give him daily work to earn a more stable income. I know it is still in process, but the gospel is not only about accepting Jesus into your heart but also about helping you grow in all areas of life.”
In a country marked by religious syncretism, where nominal Christianity is practiced side-by-side with traditional Mayan beliefs, Juancho also prays for the greater restoration of Guatemala to the one true God. It’s why he shows up in the marketplace each week, sharing the gospel alongside the teens, raising up a vibrant generation who believes in the Master Weaver who restores all things.
Written by Carolyn Grant
